Apparatuses, methods and systems relating to findable golf balls

ABSTRACT

Golf balls and a system for finding golf balls and methods for making golf balls and methods for using such balls. In the case of one exemplary golf ball, the ball includes a shell and a core material which is encased in the shell and a tag which is disposed within the core material and which has at least one perforation. The tag includes a diode and an antenna which are coupled together. Another exemplary golf ball includes a shell and a core material which is encased within the shell and a tag which is within the core material and which includes an electrical element which is coupled to an antenna; the tag is detectable over a range of at least 20 feet from a handheld device, and the golf ball has high durability and substantially complies with the golf ball specifications of the United States Golf Association.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The inventions relate to sports, such as golf, and moreparticularly to golf balls, methods for making golf balls and systemsfor use with golf balls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Golf balls are often lost when people play golf. The loss of theball slows down the game as players search for a lost ball, and lostballs make the game more expensive to play (because of the cost of newballs). Furthermore, according to the rules of the U.S. GolfAssociation, a player is penalized for strokes in a round or game ofgolf if his/her golf ball is lost.

[0003] There have been attempts in the past to make findable golf ballsin order to avoid some of the problems caused by lost balls. One suchattempt is described in German patent number G 87 09 503.3 (HelmutMayer, 1988). In this German patent, a two piece golf ball is fittedwith foil reflectors which are glued to the outer layer of the core. Ashell surrounds the foil reflectors and the core. Each of the reflectorsconsist of a two part foil antenna with a diode connected on the innerends. The diode causes a reflected signal to be double the frequency ofa received signal. A 5 watt transmitter, which is used to beam a signaltoward the reflectors, is used to find the ball. The ball is found whena reflected signal is generated by the foil antenna and diode andreflected back toward a receiver. The arrangement of the reflectors anddiodes on the ball in this German patent causes the ball to have poordurability and also makes the ball difficult and expensive tomanufacture. The impact of a club head hitting such a ball will rapidlycause the ball to rupture due to the interruption of the shell/coreinterface by the foil reflectors. Furthermore, the presence of thereflectors at this interface will negatively affect the driving distanceof such a ball.

[0004] Another attempt in the art to make a findable golf ball isdescribed in PCT patent application No. WO 0102060 A1 which describes agolf ball for use in a driving range. This golf ball includes an activeRadio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) which identifies aparticular ball. The RFID includes an active (e.g., containstransistors) ASIC chip which is energized from the received radiosignal. The RFID device is mounted in a sealed capsule which is placedwithin the core of the ball. The RFID device is designed to be used onlyat short range (e.g., less than about 10 feet). The use of a sealedcapsule to hold the RFID within the ball increases the expense of makingthis ball.

[0005] Other examples of attempts in the prior art to make findable golfballs include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,626,531; 5,423,549; 5,662,534; and5,820,484.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

[0006] Apparatuses, methods and systems relating to findable golf ballsare described herein.

[0007] In one exemplary embodiment of an aspect of the invention, a golfball includes a shell, a core material which is encased in the shell,and a tag which is disposed in the core material and which has at leastone perforation. The tag includes a diode which is coupled to anantenna. In one particular embodiment, the at least one perforation is avoid or opening within the outer perimeter of the tag.

[0008] In one exemplary embodiment of another aspect of the invention, agolf ball includes a shell and a core material which is encased in theshell and a tag which is disposed within the core material and which isdetectable with a handheld transmitting/receiving device over a range ofat least about 20 feet (separating the tag and the handheldtransmitting/receiving device). The golf ball has high durability (e.g.,most such balls can normally survive at least 20 cannon hits usingstandard testing methodology used by the golf industry) andsubstantially complies with golf ball specifications of the U.S. GolfAssociation or the golf ball specifications of the Royal & Ancient GolfClub of St. Andrews.

[0009] A system, according to an exemplary embodiment of another aspectof the invention, includes a golf ball, having a tag which includes anantenna and a diode, and a handheld transmitting/receiving device whichis capable of detecting the tag over a range of at least 20 feet andwhich complies with regulations of the Federal CommunicationsCommission.

[0010] A method of making a golf ball, according to an exemplaryembodiment of another aspect of the invention, includes forming a coreprecursor member having a first portion and a second portion; placing atag between the first portion and the second portion, the tag having atleast one perforation; placing the first and second portions, with thetag between the portions, into a mold structure; molding the portions,containing the tag, wherein the molding causes material from one of thefirst and second portions to extrude into the at least one perforationto contact the other of the first and second portions. A core member,formed either directly from the molding process or through processesafter the molding, is then encased in a shell. The first and secondportions may be created separately through a molding process whichcreates each portion individually, or they may be created through amolding process which creates a slug which is then sliced substantiallyin half to form both portions.

[0011] Also described herein are several embodiments of handheldtransmitter/receivers which may be used to find golf balls containing atleast one tag. These handheld transmitter/receivers are, in certainembodiments, designed to find golf balls at a range of at lease about 20feet and are designed to substantially comply with governmentalregulations regarding radio equipment such as Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) regulations. For example, these certain embodiments aredesigned to transmit less than, or equal to, about 1 watt maximum peakpower or about 4 watts effective isotropic radiated power.

[0012] Also described herein are several alternative embodiments of atag which includes two diodes which are coupled in parallel between twoantenna portions. This tag, in one embodiment, is placed within the corematerial of a golf ball. This double diode tag may be used as analternative to the various tags shown herein by substituting the doublediode arrangement for the single diode shown in the various tags herein.

[0013] Also described herein are several embodiments of tags which haveantenna portions in more than one plane. These tags may be considered tobe three-dimensional tags, such as several different disclosedembodiments of spiral tags or tags which are initially a planarstructure but are then bent or formed into a non-planar structure.

[0014] Also described herein are several embodiments of methods foroperating a golf course, such as an 18-hole golf course. These methodsinclude giving discounts to golfers who would play with their findableballs and handheld units. Other such methods include searching for lost,findable balls after a golf course has been closed, and cutting thegrass in the rough areas less often (such that this grass grows higherthan on golf courses which do not use findable balls).

[0015] Other embodiments of golf balls, handheld transmitter/receivers,ball and handheld systems, and methods of manufacturing balls andmethods of using the balls are described. Other features and embodimentsof various aspects of the invention will be apparent from thisdescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

[0017]FIG. 1A shows a system for finding a golf ball according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 1B is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a handheldtransmitter/receiver which may be used with embodiments of the presentinvention.

[0019]FIG. 1C is a perspective view of a handheld transmitter/receiverof FIG. 1B.

[0020]FIG. 2A is an electrical schematic which illustrates an embodimentof a circuit for a tag according to one aspect of the invention.

[0021]FIG. 2B shows a structural representation of the circuit of FIG.2A.

[0022]FIGS. 2C and 2D are electrical schematics which show otherexemplary embodiments of a circuit for a tag according to one aspect ofthe invention.

[0023]FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a golf ball which is oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the same golf ball shown inFIG. 3A, except at a different cross-sectional slice of the golf ball.

[0025]FIG. 3C shows a magnified view of a portion of the golf ball shownin FIG. 3B.

[0026]FIG. 3D shows another cross-sectional view of the golf ball ofFIG. 3A; this view shows various dimensions for one particularembodiment.

[0027]FIG. 3E shows a cross-sectional view, taken in a plane which isperpendicular to the plane of the tag shown in FIG. 3A.

[0028]FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball with a tag according to the present invention.

[0029]FIG. 4B shows the golf ball of FIG. 4A at a differentcross-sectional view.

[0030]FIG. 4C shows a magnified view of a portion of the golf ball shownin FIG. 4B.

[0031]FIG. 4D shows the same cross-sectional view as FIG. 4A withspecific measurements for a particular embodiment of a golf ballaccording to the present invention.

[0032]FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0033]FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0034]FIG. 5C shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0035]FIG. 5D shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0036]FIG. 5E shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0037]FIG. 5F shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0038]FIG. 5G shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0039]FIG. 5H shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0040]FIG. 5I shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0041]FIG. 5J shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0042]FIG. 5K shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0043]FIG. 5L shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0044]FIG. 5M shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of agolf ball of the invention.

[0045]FIG. 5N shows a plain view of a tag which may be used in a golfball according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0046]FIG. 5O shows a plain view of another tag which may be used in agolf ball according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0047]FIG. 5P shows a plain view of another embodiment of a tag whichmay be used in a golf ball according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0048]FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D show diagrammatically one embodiment of amethod for making a golf ball of the present invention.

[0049]FIG. 6E shows another embodiment of a method of making a golfball.

[0050]FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of one exemplary process for making agolf ball of the present invention.

[0051]FIG. 8A shows a block diagram schematic of a handheldtransmitter/receiver of one embodiment of the present invention.

[0052]FIG. 8B shows a block level schematic representation of anembodiment of a transmitter/receiver.

[0053]FIG. 8C shows a block level schematic of an embodiment of ahandheld transmitter/receiver of the present invention.

[0054]FIG. 8D shows a block-level schematic of an embodiment of ahandheld transmitter/receiver of the present invention.

[0055]FIG. 9A shows an exemplary embodiment of a tag having a spiralantenna.

[0056]FIG. 9B shows an exemplary embodiment of another tag having aspiral antenna.

[0057]FIG. 9C is an electrical schematic showing the circuit formed by atag having a spiral antenna.

[0058]FIGS. 9D, 9E and 9F show various examples of tags having spiralantennas which have been placed within a slug which is to be molded toform a golf ball core.

[0059]FIG. 9G shows another exemplary embodiment of a tag having aspiral antenna.

[0060]FIG. 9H shows another exemplary embodiment of a tag having aspiral antenna.

[0061]FIG. 10A shows an example in a top view of a three-dimensional taghaving, in this case, a shape which resembles the letter “S.”

[0062]FIG. 10B shows an embodiment of a slug which has been cut orformed in order to receive the tag of FIG. 10A. A view of FIG. 10B is atop view showing the two portions of the slug.

[0063]FIG. 10C shows another example of a three-dimensional tag. A viewof FIG. 10C is a top view, which resembles a cross-sectional view.

[0064]FIG. 10D shows an example of a slug which is cut or formed toreceive the tag of FIG. 10C. A view of FIG. 10D is a top view of the twoportions of the slug.

[0065]FIG. 11A shows a motorized golf cart having a cradle and arecharging mechanism for a handheld unit.

[0066]FIG. 11B shows an example of a pull cart having a cradle for ahandheld unit of the present invention.

[0067]FIG. 12 shows an exemplary embodiment of one method of operating agolf course utilizing findable balls and handheld units of variousembodiments of this invention.

[0068]FIG. 13 shows another exemplary method of making a golf ballhaving a tag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] Various embodiments and aspects of the invention will bedescribed with reference to details set below, and the accompanyingdrawings will illustrate the invention. The following description anddrawings are illustrative of the invention and are not to be construedas limiting the invention. Numerous specific details such as sizes andweights and frequencies are described to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However,in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are notdescribed in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention indetail.

[0070]FIG. 1A shows an example of the system which uses a handheldtransmitter/receiver to find a findable golf ball. A person 18 such as agolfer, may carry a handheld transmitter/receiver which is designed tolocate a findable golf ball 10 which includes a tag 12 embedded in thegolf ball. The handheld transmitter/receiver 14 may operate as a radarsystem which emits an electromagnetic signal 16 which then can bereflected by the tag 12 back to the transmitter/receiver which can thenreceive the reflected signal in a receiver in the handheld unit 14.Various different types of tags, such as tag 12, are described furtherbelow for use in the golf ball 10. These tags typically include anantenna and a diode coupled to the antenna. The diode serves to doublethe frequency of the reflective signal (or to provide another harmonicof the received signal), which makes it easier for the receiver todetect and find a golf ball as opposed to another object which hasreflected the emitted signal without modifying the frequency of theemitted signal. The tag within the golf ball 10 is typically positionednear the center of the ball and it is positioned such that the symmetryof the ball is maintained. For example, the center of gravity (andsymmetry) of a ball with a tag is substantially the same as a ballwithout a tag. The tag in certain embodiments is of such a weight andsize so that the resulting ball containing the tag has the same weightand size as a ball which complies with the United States GolfAssociation specifications or the specifications of the Royal & AncientGolf Club of St. Andrews (“R&A”). Furthermore, in certain embodiments, aball with a tag has the same performance characteristics (e.g. initialvelocity) as balls which were approved for use by the United States GolfAssociation or the R&A. In certain embodiments, the tag may include aperforation or void or hole, often within the outer perimeter of thetag's antenna. This perforation or void or hole increases the durabilityof the ball, typically by allowing the two portions to mate through theperforation and/or by allowing the core rubber composition to flowthrough the perforation to give greater strength within the ball. Thus,the durability of the ball is significantly improved.

[0071] The handheld unit 14 shown in FIG. 1A may have the form shown inFIGS. 1B and 1C. This form, shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, is one example ofmany possible forms for a handheld unit. This handheld device istypically a small device having a cylindrical handle which may be 4-5inches long, and may have a diameter of approximately 1.5 inches. Thecylindrical handle, such as handle 21, is attached to a six-sided solidwhich includes an antenna, such as the antenna casing 22 shown in FIGS.1B and 1C. FIG. 1B is a side view of a handheld transmitter/receiverwhich may be used in certain embodiments of the present invention. FIG.1C is a perspective view of a handheld unit shown in FIG. 1B. Thehandheld unit is preferably compliant with all regulations of theFederal Communications Commission and is battery powered. The batteriesmay be housed in the handle 21, and they may be conventional AAbatteries which may be placed into the handle by a user or they may berechargeable batteries which can be recharged either through the use ofan AC wall/house socket or a portable rechargeable unit (e.g. in a golfcart). In order to comply with regulations of the Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) or other applicable governmental regulations regardingradio equipment, the handheld may emit pulsed (or non-pulsed) radar witha power that is equal to or less than 1 watt. In certain embodiments,the handheld unit may emit through its transmitter pulsed radar signalsup to 1 watt maximum peak power and up to 4 watts effective isotropicradiated power (EIRP). Thus, the handheld unit for locating golf ballsmay be sold to and used by the general public in the United States.Several embodiments of handheld transmitters/receivers are describedfurther below. At least some of these embodiments may be sold to andused by the general public in countries other than the United Statesbecause the embodiments meet regulatory requirements of those countries.For example, a handheld unit for use and sale in the European Union willnormally be designed and manufactured to meet the CE markingrequirements and the National Spectrum Authority requirements per theR&TTE (Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment) Directive.

[0072]FIG. 2A shows an electrical schematic of a tag according to oneembodiment. The circuit of the tag 50 includes an antenna having twoportions 52 and 54. The portion 52 is coupled to one end of the diode56, and the portion 54 is coupled to the other end of the diode 56. Atransmission line 58 which includes an inductor is coupled in parallelacross the diode 56 as shown in FIG. 2A. The diode 56 is designed todouble the received frequency so that the reflected signal from the tagis twice (or some harmonic) of the received signal. It will beappreciated that the double harmonic described herein is one particularembodiment, and alternative embodiments may use different harmonics ormultiples of the received signal. FIG. 2B shows a structuralrepresentation of the circuit of FIG. 2A. In particular, FIG. 2B showsthe antenna portions 52 and 54 coupled to their respective ends of thediode 56 which is in turn coupled in parallel to a transmission line 58.In one embodiment of the circuit 70, the diode 56 may be a diode fromMetelics Corporation, part number SMND-840, which is available in apackage referred to as an SOD323 package. The circuits shown in FIGS. 2Aand 2B may be implemented in structures that have various differentshapes and configurations as will be apparent from the followingdescription.

[0073]FIGS. 2C and 2D show two exemplary embodiments of a tag which usestwo diodes which are coupled in parallel between the two antennaportions. Any of the various tags (e.g. shown in FIGS. 3A-5P or 9A-9H or10A or 10C) shown or described herein may use either of the circuits ofFIG. 2C or 2D rather than the single diode implementation of FIG. 2A. Inthe one case of tag 72, there is no inductor, and in the case of the tag80, there is an inductor which may be used to match the impedance of thediodes to the impedance of the antennas (antenna portions).

[0074] The tag 72 shown in FIG. 2C includes diodes 73 and 74 which arecoupled together in parallel between antenna portions 75 and 76. The twodiodes are in a parallel connection but with reversed cathode-anode(N-P) orientation. This configuration will produce a stronger secondharmonic response from the tag because of the resulting full waveimplementation of the frequency doubling process. Thus, the tag (andhence the ball containing the tag) will be findable at a greater range.This double diode may be formed in a single integrated circuit atsubstantially the same cost as the single diode 56 shown in FIG. 2A. Itwill be appreciated that in such an integrated circuit, the P portion ofthe diode 73 is coupled to the N portion of the diode 74, and the Pportion of the diode 74 is coupled the N portion of the diode 73.

[0075] The tag 80 shown in FIG. 2D is similar to the tag 72 except thatan inductor 87 is included in this tag's circuit. The inductor 87 iscoupled in parallel with the two diodes 83 and 84, which are coupled inreverse cathode-anode orientation as in the case shown in FIG. 2C. Thetwo diodes and the inductor are coupled in series between the antennaportions 85 and 86 as shown in FIG. 2D. The inductor 87 is an optionalfeature which may be used to match the impedance of the diodes to theimpedance of the antenna portions 85 and 86.

[0076]FIG. 3A shows a cross-sectional view taken through the center of agolf ball of one embodiment of the invention. The cross-sectional viewis in the plane of the tag which in this embodiment is a planarstructure formed primarily by two antenna portions 106A and 106B. An endview of the tag in FIG. 3B clearly shows the substantially planarstructure of the tag. The cross-section of FIG. 3B is taken along theline 3B-3B as shown FIG. 3A. FIG. 3C shows a magnified view of a portionof the tag within the bubble 120 shown in FIG. 3D. It will beappreciated that the bubble 120 is not a structural feature of the tagor the ball 100, but rather, is merely shown for purposes ofillustration so that the portion being magnified can be easilyrecognized. FIG. 3D shows the same view of a golf ball 100 as FIG. 3Aexcept that FIG. 3D includes various exemplary dimensions for the tagand ball shown in FIG. 3D.

[0077] The golf ball 100 shown in FIG. 3A includes a shell 102 and acore which is formed from core material 104. The shell 102 is sometimesreferred to as an outer cover shell. The tag includes an antenna 106,having antenna portions 106A and 106B, and a diode 110, and atransmission line 112. The outer perimeter 103 of the tag substantiallyconforms with the outer diameter of the core formed from the corematerial 104. The antenna 106 which includes antenna portions 106A and106B is electrically coupled to the diode 110 through a conductiveadhesive 114A and 114B (shown in FIG. 3C). In one embodiment theconductive adhesive is solder. In an alternative embodiment, theconductive adhesive is a resilient conductive epoxy which includesmetallic powder which is conductive and which is mixed with the epoxy.Examples of such resilient conductive adhesives include conductiveadhesives from Tecknit (see www.tecknit.com) and an adhesive such asadhesive 2111 from Bondline Electronic Adhesives, Inc. The use of acompressible, and resilient conductive adhesive will improve the chancesof the connection between the diode and the antenna surviving manyshocks due to the golf club head hitting the golf ball. The transmissionline 110 is coupled between the two antenna portions 106A and 106B asshown in FIG. 3A. Referring back to FIG. 2B, the transmission line 112corresponds to the transmission line 58 of FIG. 2B, and the antennaportion 106A corresponds to the antenna portion 52, and the antennaportion 106B corresponds to the antenna portion 54, while the diode 56of FIG. 2B corresponds to the diode 110 of FIG. 3A. The tag in the ball100 of FIG. 3A includes several perforations or openings which existfrom one side of the tag through and to the other side of the tag. Theseperforations include the void or perforation 108 which is within thecentral portion of the tag, and the perforations 109A and 109B and 109Cwhich are on the antenna portions 106A and 106B as shown in FIG. 3A.Other perforations, not labeled with numerals are also shown on theantenna portions 106A and 106B. These perforations may be regularlyspaced or irregularly spaced on the antenna portions. All theperforations shown in FIG. 3A are within the outer perimeter 103 of thetag. These perforations allow the core material 104 to extrude throughthe perforations during the manufacturing process such that a unitarycore material is formed through the perforations, thereby providing forgreater durability of the golf ball. This can be seen from FIG. 3E whichshows a cross-sectional view of the ball 100 taken around the region ofthe perforation 109A, where the cross-sectional view is perpendicular tothe plane of the antenna portion 106A. As shown in FIG. 3E, the antennaportion 106A includes perforation 109A. As a result of the moldingprocess described below, the core material 104 is extruded through theperforation 109A forming a unitary structure on both sides of theperforation and through the perforation as shown in FIG. 3E. A similareffect occurs at all of the other perforations, such as the perforation108 which is centrally located within the outer perimeter 103 of thetag.

[0078]FIG. 3D shows various exemplary dimensions for a tag and ball,such as the golf ball 100. The exterior or outside ball diameter isabout 1.68 inches. The inside diameter of the shell 102, which coincideswith the outside diameter of the core is about 1.5 inches. Theapproximate diameter of the outer perimeter 103 of the tag is about 1.36inches. The approximate diameter of the centrally located perforation108 is approximately 0.76 inches. The approximate diameter of each ofthe eight perforations on the antenna portions 106A and 106B isapproximately 0.125 inches in diameter. These eight perforations in thetwo antenna portions 106A and 106B are located substantially on a circlewhich has a diameter of 1.06 inches. The angular separation betweenthese eight perforations is approximately 33°, while the angularseparation between the end perforations and the centerline 100A is about₄₀°. The distance from the centerline 100B, which horizontallyintersects the center of the ball 100, to the top of the antenna shownin FIG. 3D, is about 0.533 inches. Thus, the typical top to bottomlength of the antenna 106 in the view shown in FIG. 3D is about 1.066inches. The following dimensions are with respect to the “U” shapedtransmission line 112 which is centrally located within the perforation108 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3D. This “U” shaped transmission line isformed from the same copper material as the antenna portions 106A and106B. Typically, the antenna 106 and the transmission line 112 areformed from a unitary piece of copper which is etched to have the shapeshown in FIGS. 3A and 3D, and then the diode 110 is attached through aconductive adhesive as shown in FIG. 3C. The width of the transmissionline 112 is about 0.06 inches. Including this width, the “U” shapedtransmission line 112 extends from the centerline 100B up towards thetop of the ball shown in FIG. 3D by approximately 0.136 inches. There isa perforation or void between the inside edges of the “U” shapedtransmission line. The size of this void from one side of the insideedge of the “U” shaped transmission line to the other side of the insideedge of the transmission line is approximately 0.06 inches. The gap fromthe centerline 100A to an inside edge of the “U” shaped transmissionline is about 0.03 inches.

[0079] It is often desirable to mount an antenna in a tag, such asantenna 106, on an insulating substrate. In the embodiment shown inFIGS. 3A through 3E, the tag is mounted on a dielectric (insulating)substrate, which in this case is a layer of an insulator known asKapton, which is approximately 0.005 inches thick. The Kapton layers 118and 119 shown in FIG. 3C leave open the void created by the “U” shapedtransmission line. In effect, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3Athrough 3E, where there is no copper (e.g., antenna), there is no Kaptonsuch that the Kapton does not exist in the perforation 108, and does notexist in the perforations in the antenna portions, such as perforations109A, 109B, and 109C. In this manner, the perforations exist from oneside of the tag to the other side of the tag thereby allowing the corematerial 104 to extrude through the perforations to form a unitarystructure of core material from one side of the tag through and to theother side of the tag. It will be appreciated that the Kapton may beallowed to exist in certain places where there is no copper (antenna),such as in the void of the copper of the “U” shaped transmission line.In this case, there is no perforation in the Kapton and no perforationin the tag which allows for the extrusion of core material through theperforation in the molding process.

[0080] The ball 100 shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3D may be constructed in amanner such that complies with the specifications for a golf ball of theU.S. Golf Association or the R&A. For example, the weight of the golfball without the tag will be approximately 45.50 grams but not exceeding45.927 grams (total ball and tag weight), and the weight of the tag (allcomponents) may be about 0.359 grams, which results from the combinationof the weight of the Kapton dielectric, the copper antenna, the diode,and the conductive adhesive, each of which respectively are 0.157 grams,0.182 grams, 0.004 grams, and 0.0156 grams. The size and shape of thegolf ball as shown in FIG. 3A is within the specifications for a golfball of the U.S.G.A. (United States Golf Association) or the R&A andthus, the weight and size of such a golf ball complies with thespecifications of the U.S.G.A. or the R&A. Furthermore, it has beendetermined that a golf ball with a tag such as that shown in FIG. 3A hassufficiently high durability to comply with the durabilitycharacteristics of golf balls normally approved by the U.S.G.A. or theR&A for tournament play. For example, a golf ball of the form shown inFIG. 3A will normally survive many cannon hits, which is theconventional way of testing the durability of golf balls. Most golfballs designed according to the embodiment of FIG. 3A survive at least20 cannon hits and many such golf balls survive nearly 40 cannon hits,which is considered to be a desired goal for durability of golf balls.Furthermore, it has been found that the flight characteristics (e.g.initial velocity) of a golf ball such as golf ball 100 shown in FIG. 3A,substantially complies with the flight characteristics of golf ballsspecified by the U.S. Golf Association or the R&A. Thus, the overalldistance the ball travels with normal hits, and its initial velocity andother parameters normally specified in the requirements of the U.S.G.A.or the R&A under their standard testing procedure, are satisfied by thegolf ball fabricated as described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A.

[0081]FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D show an alternative embodiment of a golfball according to the present invention. The golf ball 130 shown inFIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D is very similar to the golf ball 100 shown inFIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E. The golf ball 130 has substantially thesame specifications as the golf ball 100, as shown by the measurementsof FIG. 4D and the measurements of FIG. 3D. Moreover, the tag of thegolf ball 30 includes a diode 110 and an antenna 132 which is similarlyshaped to the antenna 106 of FIG. 3A. Moreover, a transmission line 134is similarly shaped to transmission line 112 of FIG. 3A. Furthermore, ashell 102 having an outside diameter of about 1.68 inches surrounds thecore material 104 which has an outside diameter (corresponding to theinside diameter of the shell 102) of about 1.5 inches. A tag having anantenna 132 formed by antenna portions 132A and 132B, is coupled to thediode 110 and to the transmission line 134. A perforation 136 is locatedwithin the outer perimeter of the antenna 132 and serves a similarpurpose as the perforation 108 of FIG. 3A. However, the antenna portions132A and 132B do not include perforations (unlike the antenna portions106A and 106B of FIG. 3A which do include perforations, such asperforations 109A and 109B). This can be seen in the view of FIG. 4Awhich is a cross-sectional view of the plane of the tag; this view showsthat there are no perforations in the antenna portions 132A and 132B,unlike the perforations in the antenna portions 106A and 106B of FIG.3A. The view shown in FIG. 4B is similar to the view shown in FIG. 3B.This view may be considered to be an end view which is parallel with theplane of the tag and which shows how a diametric axis which passesthrough the center of the golf ball is substantially aligned with adiametric axis of the tag formed primarily by the antenna 132. Thebubble 142 is shown for illustrative purposes in FIGS. 4B and 4C, and isunderstood to be not required to be a part of the physical structure ofthe golf ball, but is used rather for purposes of illustration. FIG. 4Cshows a magnified view of a portion within the bubble 142. Thismagnified view shows that the diode 110 is coupled by a conductiveadhesive 138A and 138B to their respective antenna portions 132A and132B. The conductive adhesive 138A and 138B may be similar to theconductive adhesive 114A described above. The antenna portions 132A and132B may be a copper conductor which has a thickness of approximately0.0014 inches thick. A substrate which is an insulator, such as Kapton,may be applied below the copper antenna. The Kapton does not exist inthe perforation area 136, and thus this perforation area allows for thetwo portions of a core precursor which is placed within a mold to bindthrough the perforation 136 to perform a unitary structure, such as thestructure shown in FIG. 3E, wherein the structure extends through theperforation as shown in FIG. 3E. The perforation 136 is contained withinthe outer perimeter 133 which substantially conforms with the outerdiameter of the core member as shown in FIG. 4D.

[0082]FIGS. 5A through 5P show various golf ball components whichinclude tags having various shapes and configurations which arealternative embodiments of the present invention. At least some of theseembodiments share certain characteristics which will now be describedbefore describing each of these particular embodiments in FIGS. 5Athrough 5P. In certain of the embodiments, the tag structure issubstantially planar and symmetrical about a diametric axis which passesthrough the center of a golf ball. The tag structure is substantially inone plane which intersects (substantially) the center of the golf balland has an outer perimeter which conforms to the inner contour(diameter) of the shell, which itself conforms to the outer diameter ofthe core in the case of the two-piece golf ball. The diode in certainembodiments is typically coupled to the antenna along the diametricaxis. There is an internal void or perforation around a transmissionline within certain embodiments of the tag. As can be seen from thevarious embodiments, the diode will be positioned either substantiallyat the center of the golf ball or substantially off-center. The diode insome embodiments is substantially near the center of the ball (e.g.FIGS. 5C and 5E) and in other embodiments it is not (e.g. FIGS. 3A and4A). At least two types of transmission lines are shown having twodistinct shapes; one case involves a “U” shaped portion which isbisected by the diametric axis of the golf ball, and another type oftransmission line includes the “T” shaped transmission line which isalso bisected by the diametric axis of the golf ball. Due to theperforations which exist in the tag, the surface area of the plane ofthe tag is less than the surface area of a cross-section through thecenter of the ball. Many of the embodiments described herein include anantenna which has a first wing and a second wing which is bisected bythe diametric axis through the center of the golf ball. The first wingand the second wing are symmetrical and have at least one perforationwhich separates the first and second wings. A transmission line which iscoupled to the first and second wings is substantially bisected by thediametric axis. At least a portion of the outer perimeter of the firstand second wings substantially conforms to the outer diameter of thecore material of the golf ball.

[0083] Various alternative embodiments of tags which may be used in golfballs will now be described while referring to FIGS. 5A through 5P. Thegolf ball component 200 shown in FIG. 5A shows a tag within a core 204which then can be encased in the shell to form a golf ball. The tagincludes a diode 201 which is contained within the core material 206.The tag is wholly contained within the outer perimeter of the core 204.The tag includes, in addition to the diode 201, a transmission line 210,and an antenna having antenna portions 208 and 209, which are coupled tothe diode 201, and which are coupled to the transmission line 210 asshown in FIG. 5A. A central perforation, which is within the outerperimeter 203 of the tag, is surrounded by the antenna portions 208 and209. Various exemplary dimensions are shown in FIG. 5A. While the tag ofFIG. 5A has a transmission line of the same width as the transmissionline of FIG. 3A, and while the diameter of the outer perimeter of theantenna of FIG. 5A is similar to the diameter of the outer perimeter ofthe antenna of FIG. 3A, the antenna is longer from top to bottom in FIG.5A's embodiment than the embodiment of FIG. 3A.

[0084]FIG. 5B is another embodiment of a tag in a golf ball or golf ballcore. The tag and core combination 220 includes an antenna havingantenna portions 228 and 229 and a diode 221 which is coupled to theantenna portions 228 and 229. A perforation 222 centrally located withinthe outer perimeter 223 of the tag is also part of the tag's structure.The outer perimeter 224 of the core material completely surrounds theouter perimeter 223 of the tag. It can be seen that the outer perimeter223 substantially conforms to the outer perimeter 224 of the corematerial. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5B does not include atransmission line. The view shown in FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional viewtaken at a plane which intersects the center of the core, wherein theplane which shows the view is parallel with the plane of the antennahaving antenna portions 228 and 229. Thus, the position of the tag shownin FIG. 5B is similar to the position of the tag shown in FIG. 3A.

[0085]FIG. 5C shows another embodiment of a tag in a golf ball core. Thecore and tag combination 240 includes a diode 241 and antenna portions248 and 249 which are connected to the diode 241. A perforation 242extends along the diametric vertical axis as shown in FIG. 5C. Thisperforation is also within the outer perimeter 243 of the tag. There arealso “V” shaped perforations between the spokes of the antenna portions248 and 249. FIG. 5C shows a cross-sectional view of the tag within thecore, and thus the view of FIG. 5C is the same as the view shown in FIG.3A.

[0086]FIG. 5D shows another embodiment of the tag and core combination260 which includes a diode 261 which is coupled to the antenna portions268 and 269. These antenna portions surround the perforation 262, whichis similar to the perforation 108 shown in FIG. 3A. The perforationallows for the core material 266 to extend through the perforationduring the molding process described below. The outer perimeter 264 ofthe core material completely surrounds the tag shown in FIG. 5D.

[0087]FIG. 5E shows another embodiment of a golf ball 280 which includesa tag. The golf ball shown in FIG. 5E is a two-piece ball having a shell285 which surrounds the outer perimeter 284 of the core material 286.The tag includes a diode 281 which is coupled between the two antennaportions 288 and 289. A transmission line 290 is also coupled betweenthe two antenna portions 288 and 289. The tag includes at least oneperforation 282 which is contained within the outer perimeter 283 of thetag. The view of FIG. 5E is a cross-sectional view wherein the plane ofthe view is parallel with the plane of the tag such that the view ofFIG. 5E is similar to the view in FIG. 3A. The tag as shown in FIG. 5Eis symmetrical about the centerline which coincides with a diametricaxis of the golf ball which diametric axis intersects with the center ofthe golf ball. It can be seen from FIG. 5E that most of the outerperimeter 283 of the tag conforms substantially to the outer perimeter284 of the core material 286. The tag shown in FIG. 5E is substantiallyplanar and symmetric about the diametric axis which intersects thecenter of the golf ball. The “T” shaped transmission line 290 isbisected by this diametric axis. It can also be seen from FIG. 5E thatthe surface area of the plane of the tag is less than thecross-sectional area of a plane through the center of the ball. Theperforation 282 allows for the core material 286 to be extruded throughthe perforations as a result of the molding process to produce a resultwhich is similar to that shown in FIG. 3E.

[0088]FIG. 5F shows another embodiment of a golf ball 300 which is atwo-piece golf ball including a shell 305 which surrounds the outerperimeter 304 of the core material 306. A tag is contained within thecore material 306, and this tag includes a diode 301 which is coupledbetween antenna portions 308 and 309. The antenna portions 308 and 309are coupled to a transmission line 310. The view of FIG. 5F is similarto the view shown in FIG. 3A, and is a cross-sectional view takenthrough the center of the golf ball. A perforation 302 exists betweenthe two antenna portions and within the outer perimeter 303.Additionally, there are “V” shaped perforations between the spokes ofthe antenna portions. The dimensions shown in FIG. 5F, as well as allthe other figures are in inches (except for of course the angulardimensions which are in degrees).

[0089]FIG. 5G shows another embodiment of a tag in a golf ball accordingto the present invention. The golf ball 320 is a two-piece golf ballwhich includes a shell 325 which surrounds the outer perimeter 324 ofthe core material 326. This golf ball may be formed in accordance withthe method described below and shown in FIG. 7 and FIGS. 6A through 6D.The tag includes a diode 321 which is coupled between antenna portions328 and 329. These antenna portions are coupled to a transmission line330, and these antenna portions surround a perforation 322 which issimilar to the perforation 136 shown in FIG. 4A and the perforation 108shown in FIG. 3A. The perforation 322 is within the outer perimeter 323of the tag. The view of FIG. 5G is a cross-sectional view taken throughthe center of the golf ball 320, and thus it is similar tocross-sectional view of FIG. 3A. The tag of FIG. 5G is substantially aplanar tag which is symmetrical about the diametric axis whichintersects the center of the golf ball 320. The outer perimeter 323 ofthe tag substantially conforms to the inner surface of the shell 325 andconforms to the outer surface of the core material 326. The “T” shapedtransmission line 330 is bisected by the diametric axis, and the diode321 is located near the center of the golf ball. As can be seen fromFIG. 5G, the antenna portions 328 and 329 resemble first and secondwings which are bisected by the diametric axis and which are symmetricalabout this diametric axis. The perforation 322 separates the first andsecond wings. As in the case of the example shown in FIG. 3A, theperforation 322 allows for the core material 326 to be extruded throughthe perforation during the molding process described below to yield aresult which is similar to that shown in FIG. 3E.

[0090] Another exemplary embodiment of a golf ball according to thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 5H, which is a cross-sectional viewtaken through the center of the golf ball 340 shown in FIG. 5H. The golfball 340 is a two-piece golf ball which includes a shell 345 whichsurrounds the outer perimeter 344 of the core material 346. This golfball 340 may be fabricated according to the process described belowrelative to FIGS. 6A through 6D and FIG. 7. The golf ball 340 includes atag having a diode 341 which is coupled between antenna portions 348 and349. A transmission line 350 is coupled between antenna portions 348 and349. The perforation 342 is contained within the outer perimeter 343 ofthe tag, and additional perforations which are “V” shaped exist betweenthe spokes of the antenna portions 348 and 349. The various lineardimensions shown in FIG. 5H indicate the sizes of the various componentsshown in FIG. 5H and are in inches. It can be seen that the tagstructure of FIG. 5H is symmetrical about the diametric axis whichintersects the center of the golf ball. The diode 341 is substantiallynear the center of the golf ball 340, and the tag structure issubstantially planar. The ends of the spokes of the antenna portionsform an outer perimeter 343 which substantially conforms to the outersurface 344 of the core material 346. The “T” shaped transmission line350 is substantially bisected by the diametric axis which intersects thecenter of the golf ball 340.

[0091] Another exemplary embodiment of a golf ball according to thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 5I. FIG. 5I is a cross-sectional viewwhere the plane of the cross-section is taken through the center of agolf ball 360. The golf ball 360 is a two-piece golf ball having a shell365 which surrounds the outer surface or perimeter 364 of the corematerial 366. Contained within the core material 366 is a tag whichincludes a diode 361 which is coupled between antenna portions 368 and369. An elongated transmission line 370 is coupled between the antennaportions 368 and 369. A perforation 362 exists between the antennaportions 368 and 369, an there are additional perforations which are “V”shaped between the spokes of the antenna portions. The perforations arewithin the boundary established by the outer perimeter 363 which isformed effectively by the ends of the spokes of the antenna portions.

[0092] Another exemplary embodiment of a golf ball according to thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 5J, which is a cross-sectional view,where the plane of the cross-section is taken through the center of thegolf ball 380. The golf ball 380 is a two-piece ball having a shell 385which surrounds an outer perimeter 384 of the core material 386. Whollycontained within the core material 386 is a tag which has antennaportions 388 and 389. The tag also includes a diode 381 which is coupledbetween the antenna portions 388 and 389, and further includes atransmission line 370 which is also coupled between the antenna portions388 and 389. The perforation 382 exists between the two antenna portions388 and 389, and this perforation is within the outer perimeter 383 ofthe tag as shown in FIG. 5J. This outer perimeter 383 substantiallyconforms to the outer perimeter 384 of the core material 386. The golfball 380 may be fabricated according to the method described belowrelative to FIGS. 6A through 6D and FIG. 7.

[0093]FIG. 5K shows another exemplary embodiment of a golf ballaccording to the present invention. The golf ball 400 shown in FIG. 5Kis a two-piece golf ball which includes a shell 405 which surrounds theouter perimeter 404 of the core material 406. Wholly contained withinthe core material 406 is a tag which includes an antenna portion 408 andan antenna portion 409. The tag also includes a diode 401 which iscoupled between the two antenna portions 408 and 409. A transmissionline 410 is also coupled between the two antenna portions 408 and 409. Aperforation 402 exists between the two antenna portions 408 and 409 andis contained within the outer perimeter 403 of the tag. The golf ball400 will be fabricated according to one of the methods described belowsuch that the core material 406 is extruded through the perforation 402to produce a result which is similar to that shown in FIG. 3E. It can beseen from FIG. 5K that the tag is substantially symmetrical about adiametric axis which intersects the center of the golf ball 400. The tagis substantially planar and includes a “T” shaped transmission linewhich is also bisected by the diametric axis. In this embodiment, thediode 401 is located substantially at the center of the golf ball 400.

[0094]FIG. 5L shows another exemplary embodiment of a golf ball of thepresent invention. The golf ball 420 shown in FIG. 5L is a two-part golfball including a shell 425 which surrounds an outer perimeter 424 of acore material 426. The core material 426 wholly contains a tag whichincludes a diode 421 and two antenna portions 248 and 249 and thetransmission line 430. The diode 421 is coupled between the two antennaportions 428 and 429, and the transmission line 430 is coupled betweenthe two antenna portions 428 and 429. The perforation 422 between theantenna portions separate the antenna portions and is similar to theperforation 108 of FIG. 3A. In addition, the transmission line 430includes a perforation. These perforations are within the outerperimeter 423 defined by the ends of the antenna portions. The golf ball420 may be fabricated according to one of the embodiments describedbelow for a method of fabricating a golf ball. Thus, the extrusion ofthe core material 426 through the perforations will result in astructure which is similar to that shown in FIG. 3E. The tag of FIG. 5Lis a substantially planar tag which is symmetrical about the diametricaxis of the golf ball, which diametric axis intersects the center of thegolf ball 420. The T-shaped transmission line 430 is bisected by thediametric axis, and the tag structure is symmetrical about thisdiametric axis which coincides with the vertical center line shown inFIG. 5L. FIG. 5L is a cross-sectional view where the plane of thecross-section is taken through the center of the golf ball 420 and thusit resembles the view shown in FIG. 3A.

[0095]FIG. 5M shows another exemplary embodiment of a golf ballaccording to the present invention. The golf ball 440 is a two-piecegolf ball which includes a shell 445 which surrounds an outer perimeter444 of the core material 446. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5M, itcan be seen that the tag includes a diode 441 and antenna portions 448and 449 as well as a transmission line 450. The diode 441 is coupledbetween the two antenna portions 448 and 449, and the transmission line450 is coupled between these two antenna portions. At least oneperforation 442 exists within the outer perimeter 443 of the tag, wherethe outer perimeter 443 is defined by the outer edge or perimeter of theantenna portions. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 5M is in a planewhich intersects the center of the golf ball, and the tag structure issubstantially planar and symmetrical about a diametric axis of the golfball which intersects the center of the golf ball. The golf ball 440shown in FIG. 5M may be fabricated according to the methods describedbelow such that the core material 446 is extruded through theperforations 442 during the molding process to yield a structure whichis similar to that shown in FIG. 3E.

[0096]FIG. 5N shows an exemplary embodiment of a tag of the presentinvention. The tag 460 includes antenna portions 468 and 469 and a diode461 which is coupled between these antenna portions. A transmission line470 is coupled to the antenna portions 468 and 469, and thistransmission line 470 surrounds the perforation 462, which perforationseparates the transmission line from the antenna portions 468 and 469.There is also a separation between the antenna portions which may alsobe a perforation. The tag of FIG. 5N may be made small enough in itsrectangular shape so that it fits completely within the core material ofa two-piece golf ball. Alternatively, portions of the antenna portions468 and 469 may be trimmed away to allow this tag to fit within a golfball core or within a one-piece golf ball. The tag shown in FIG. 5N is asubstantially planar tag which may be placed in a plane in the golf ballcore which intersects with the center of the golf ball. In thisposition, the substantially planar tag of FIG. 5N will be symmetricalabout the diametric axis of the golf ball, which diametric axisintersects the center of the golf ball. The tag of FIG. 5N may beintroduced into a core material to fabricate a golf ball according toone of the methods described below relative to FIGS. 6A-6D and FIG. 7.

[0097]FIG. 5O shows another exemplary embodiment of a tag which may beused in golf balls of the present invention. Tag 480 is similar to thetag 460 except it includes additional perforations in the antennaportions 488 and 489. The tag 480 includes a diode 481 which is coupledbetween the antenna portions 488 and 489 and includes a transmissionline 490 which is coupled between the antenna portions, in which,together with the antenna portions, defines the perforation 482. Inaddition to the perforation 482, nine circular perforations on each ofthe antenna portions provide additional openings for the core materialto be extruded through the perforations, such as perforations 482A,482B, 482C, and 482D.

[0098]FIG. 5P shows another exemplary embodiment of a tag which may beused in golf balls of the present invention. The tag 500 is asubstantially circular tag which is also substantially planar. The tagincludes a diode 501 coupled between antenna portions 508 and 509. Theouter perimeter 503 of the tag 500 is substantially circular andincludes a perforation 502 within the outer perimeter 503. Atransmission line 510 is coupled between the antenna portions 508 and509. In addition to the perforation 502, perforations of different sizesare included on the antenna portions 508 and 509. In particular, smallerperforations 502C and 502 are on the antenna portion 508, while largerperforations such as perforations 502A and 502B are on the antennaportion 509. The tag 500 may be included in a golf ball core andfabricated according to the techniques described below. The perforationsin this tag will allow for the core material to be extruded through theperforations to create a structure similar to that shown in FIG. 3E.

[0099]FIGS. 6A through 6D and FIG. 7 will now be referred to whiledescribing various embodiments of methods of fabricating golf balls ofthe present invention. The following discussion assumes a two-piece ballhaving a core material which is surrounded by a relatively thin shell,such as the golf ball shown in FIG. 3A. It will be appreciated, however,that the following discussion will also apply to one-piece golf ballsand to golf balls having more than two pieces. The one exemplary methodshown in FIGS. 6A-6D begins with a cylindrical-shaped slug 600 which, inone embodiment, is about 1.375 inches high and has a diameter of 1.125inches. The cylindrical-shaped slug is typically a rubber compositionwhich has not been vulcanized. Examples of such compositions aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,508,350 and 4,955,613. In the exampleshown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the slug 600 is sliced in half to create slugportions 602 and 604. In certain embodiments, the material of the slug600 is an unvulcanized rubber which is extruded to form the shape of theslug 600. It will be appreciated that this is one method of forming thetwo portions as shown in operation 702 of FIG. 7. In an alternativeembodiment, these two portions may be formed separately as twoseparately extruded pieces or in some other manner to create the twoseparate portions separately rather than from a single slug such as slug600. These two portions may be considered golf ball precursor portions.After the two portions are created, such as portions 602 and 604, a tagsuch as tag 606 is placed between the two portions. The tag 606typically will include antenna portions 609 and 610 between which arecoupled a diode 608. The tag 606 may also include a transmission line610A which is disposed in the central perforation 607. The tag 606 maybe similar to the tag shown in FIG. 4A. Once the tag 606 is placedbetween the two portions 602 and 604, these portions are broughttogether to create the combined structure 620 as shown in FIG. 6C. Thecombined structure 620 includes the seam 615 which separates the twoportions 602 and 604. The tag 606 is sandwiched between the twoportions, preferably in the middle of these two portions, so that thetag will end up being substantially centered in the final core. The seam615 may not be sealed or glued together; that is, the two portions 602and 604 may not be held together by glue in the configuration shown inFIG. 6C. Typically, the extruded, unvulcanized rubber (which may be usedin certain embodiments) of the two portions has enough tackiness to holdtogether the tag and two portions 602 and 604. After the structure shownin FIG. 6C is obtained, the combined structure 620 is placed in a mold622 as shown in FIG. 6D and as described in operation 706 of FIG. 7. Themold is of a proper size to form a resulting core size of about 1.5inches in diameter. The core will typically weigh in the range of about34.75 to 35.25 grams. After the combined structure 620 is placed withinthe mold 622, the slug is molded, typically in a high temperature andhigh pressure operation. This molding operation, due to the hightemperature and high pressure, vulcanizes and cures the rubbercomposition from the two slug portions into one unit and also causesthis composition to flow through the perforations in the tags to createa unitary structure, such as the structure shown in FIG. 3E. In oneexemplary embodiment, the core rubber composition is vulcanized/curedfor eight minutes at a temperature of 325° Fahrenheit under a highpressure clamping of about 2 tons per square inch. After the moldingprocess of operation 708, the core is allowed to cool overnight at roomtemperature and then the surface is cleaned prior to injection moldingof the cover material, such as shell 102 of FIG. 3A, over the core.Examples of suitable cover material are known in the art, includingmaterials which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,794. After encasingthe molded core into a shell as in operation 710 of FIG. 7, the ball maybe processed in finishing operations which involve ball trimming,surface cleaning, stamping/logo application and painting. As notedelsewhere, embodiments of the invention may be used in golf ballsconstructed as one-piece balls or more than 2 piece balls (e.g. ballshaving more than one core).

[0100] While several of the examples described herein show the slicingor forming of two slug portions (e.g. 602 and 604 in FIG. 6B or 1202 and1204 in FIG. 10B), it will be recognized that more than two slugportions may be combined together with one or more tags to form a golfball. For example, a cylindrically shaped slug (such as the slug 600 inFIG. 6A) may be sliced into four pieces which are then combined with atag or two tags or four tags to create an assembly which is similar tostructure 620 and which can then be molded into a golf ball or golf ballcore. The four pieces may each be half cylinders which have equal sizes.These four pieces may alternatively be separately formed by an extruderto create the four pieces rather than slicing a larger cylindrical slug.These four pieces may receive four tags between the inner faces of thepieces. FIG. 6E shows, in an exploded top view, an example of four slugportions 631, 632, 633 and 634 receiving four tags 637, 638, 639 and640; this assembly is, after the tags are inserted, placed into amolding chamber to form the golf ball (in the case of a one-piece golfball construction) or a core of a golf ball (in the case of a more thanone piece golf ball construction).

[0101] A description of various embodiments of a handheldtransmitter/receiver which may be used as the handheld unit 14 of FIG.1A will now be provided in conjunction with FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C. In theexemplary embodiments of FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C, the handheld unit consistsof a battery powered transmitter and antenna radiating the radiofrequency signal in the 902-928 MHz band, and an antenna and a receiveroperating over the 1804-1856 MHz band, and an audio and visual interfaceto the user of the handheld unit. The audio interface may optionally bean earphone rather than a speaker, and as an option, the handheld unitmay utilize a vibrating transducer to alert the user to the presence ofa ball. A visual display such as a meter or a string of LEDs may alsoprovide a proximity measure to the user so that the user can tellwhether or not the user is getting closer to the ball or further fromthe ball as the user walks around searching for the ball.

[0102] The handheld unit 800 shown in FIG. 8A includes a battery poweredtransmitter and battery powered receiver and an audio and visualinterface. The implementation shown in FIG. 8A uses a frequency-hoppingtransmitted signal that complies with the Federal CommunicationsCommission Rules Part 15.247 for intentional radiators. The radiofrequency transmitted signal originates in the synthesizer 804 which isan oscillator at twice the transmitted frequency which receives afrequency sweeping sawtooth modulation from a sweep driver 806. Thesynthesizer 804 also receives a control from the hopping-implementingsynthesizer driver 802 which causes the synthesizer to hop fromfrequency to frequency within the band 1804-1856 MHz. The output fromthe synthesizer 804 is amplified by the buffer amplifier 808 anddirected to a divide-by-two divider 810, the output of which is directedto a filter 812. The output from the filter 812 is directed to atransmitter amplifier chain 814 which provides an output to a filter 816which in turn provides an output to the transmitter antenna 818, therebytransmitting the radio frequency signal in the range of 902-928 MHz. Thetransmitter antenna is moderately directive and produces the radiatedsignal which can be reflected by a tag in a lost golf ball. The diode inthe tag causes the reflected signal to have double of the frequency ofthe received signal, which received signal was emitted by thetransmitter antenna. The proximity of the handheld unit to the golf ballwill in large part determine the magnitude/intensity of the reflectedsignal which can then be indicated by one of the user interfaces such asthe speaker or earphones or visual display or the vibrating transducerin the handheld unit.

[0103] The receiver of the handheld unit 800 includes a moderatelydirective receiver antenna 830 which receives the reflected secondharmonic signal produced by the diode in the lost golf ball. Thisreceived signal is filtered in filter 828 which provides the filteredoutput to a receiver amplifier chain 826 which amplifies the filteredsignal, which is then outputted to a further filter, filter 824, theoutput of which is directed to a mixer 822. The mixer 822 also receivesthe filtered output of the amplifier 808 through the filter 820. Theoutput of the mixer 822 is an audio frequency difference product of thesecond harmonic of the frequency swept transmitter signal, and thesignal received from the frequency-doubling tag within the ball. Theaudio frequency difference product has a pitch that is determined by thesweeping of the transmitter frequency and the time delay between thetransmitted and received signals. Thus, the pitch of the audio frequencydifference product provides an indication of the distance between thehandheld unit and the lost golf ball. The audio frequency differenceproduct from the mixer is provided through a DC block 831 which providesthe output (filtered for DC level) to an amplitude equalizer and filter832 which provides an output to an audio amplifier and conditioner 834which drives the speaker 836. A visual display 838 is also coupled tothe amplifier and conditioner 834 to provide a visual display of theproximity of the golf ball and then optional handheld vibratingtransducer 840 may provide a vibrating output, the intensity of thevibration increasing as the ball approaches the handheld unit. It willbe appreciated that any particular handheld unit may have one or more ofthese indicators. For example, it may have only a speaker or a headphoneoutput or it may have only a visual display or only a vibrating displayor it may have two or more of these outputs.

[0104] The handheld unit 850 of FIG. 8B is similar in structure andoperation to the handheld unit 800 except that the frequency synthesizer856 operates in the band 902-928 MHz rather than double that frequencyas in the case of synthesizer 804. Accordingly, there is nodivide-by-two divider in the handheld unit 850 but rather there is a2×frequency multiplier 868 in the handheld unit 850. The handheld unit850 is an implementation that uses a frequency-hopping transmittedsignal that complies with the FCC Rules Part 15.247 for intentionalradiators. The radio frequency transmitted signal originates in thefrequency synthesizer 856 which is an oscillator at the transmittedfrequency which receives a frequency sweeping sawtooth modulation from asweep driver 854. The synthesizer 856 is controlled by a frequency hopdriver 852. The oscillator output from synthesizer 856 is amplified bythe buffer amplifier 858 which provides an output to the filter 860 andan output to the frequency doubler 868. The output from the amplifier858 is filtered in filter 860 and amplified in the transmitter amplifierchain 862 and then filtered in filter 864 to produce a transmittedsignal which is transmitted from the moderately directive transmitterantenna 866 in the band of 902-928 MHz. This transmitted signal may bereflected by a tag, causing a reflected signal at a double harmonic(twice the frequency) of the received signal from the transmitterantenna. The receiving antenna 880 picks up this reflected secondharmonic and provides this received signal to the filter 878 whichprovides an output to a receiver amplifier chain 876 which provides anoutput to a filter 874. Thus the received signal is filtered andamplified and provided as an RF input to the mixer 872 which alsoreceives a filtered input from the 2×frequency multiplier 868. The mixer872 produces at its output an audio frequency difference product of thesecond harmonic of the frequency swept transmitter signal and the signalreceived from the frequency-doubling tag within the ball. The audiofrequency difference product has a pitch that is determined by thesweeping of the transmitter frequency and the time delay between thetransmitted and received signals. This audio frequency differenceproduct is output through a DC block 881 to an amplitude equalizer andfilter 882 which in turn outputs a signal to the audio amplifier andconditioner 884 which drives the speaker 886. In addition, the amplifierand conditioner 884 provides an output to a visual display and thevibrating transducer 888.

[0105]FIG. 8C shows another embodiment for a handheld unit whichconsists of a battery powered transmitter and an antenna radiating atabout 915 MHz, and an antenna and receiver operating at about 1829 MHz.The implementation of FIG. 8C uses a direct sequence spread spectrumradar system which includes the transmitter and a receiver and a controlunit, which in this case is a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Thebasic clock signal for the FPGA 902 is obtained from the localoscillator 922 which provides inputs to the amplifiers 920 and 924 whichin turn drive the FPGA 902 and a phase-locked loop synthesizer 926.During a power-on operation, the FPGA 902 programs the phase-locked loopsynthesizer 926 to the correct frequency of operation. This occursthrough the control lines from the FPGA 902 to the phase-locked loopsynthesizer 926. The phase-locked loop synthesizer 926 is used togenerate a local oscillator (LO) signal for the receiver. A receiver LOfrequency is 1818.30 MHz. A frequency divider 930 is used to generate a909.15 MHz local oscillator for the transmitter which is filtered by aband pass filter 931 (centered at 909.15 MHz (“FC”)). Deriving thetransmit local oscillator from the receiver's local oscillator not onlyeliminates the requirement for a second phase-locked loop synthesizer,but virtually eliminates any frequency error (e.g. frequency drift)between the transmitter and the receiver. The transmit local oscillatoris modulated using a Quadrature Modulator circuit. This QuadratureModulator enables a single circuit to perform all of the followingfeatures: (1) it performs a basic On-Off Keyed (OOK) modulation used inradar systems. Operating with OOK modulation not only provides an audiotone for the system but also minimizes the heat generated by theamplifiers and the transmitter, such as amplifiers 912 and 914; (2) theQuadrature Modulator produces a Binary Phase-Shift Keying (BPSK)modulation of the local oscillator signal and performs what is called aDirect-Sequence Spread Spectrum signaling. This allows the handheld unitto operate in the 915 MHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) andas a license-free device operated under FCC Part 15.247; (3) theQuadrature Modulator 904 provides a Single-Sideband translation of thelocal oscillator input signal to a transmit output frequency of 914.50MHz. That is, the local oscillator signal is shifted up in frequency by5.35 MHz. This frequency translation results in a received signal thatis offset from the receiver's local oscillator frequency by 10.7 MHz.Having the received frequency that is offset from the receiver's localoscillator reduces the magnitude of unwanted local oscillator leakageinto the receiver's high gain amplifier chain, which may includeamplifiers 942 and 944 and 948 as shown in FIG. 8C. The output of theQuadrature Modulator 904, which includes multipliers 906 and 908 as wellas the mixer 910, is a Direct-Sequence, Spread Spectrum signalcontaining OOK modulation at a frequency of 914.5 MHz. This signal isfiltered by two band pass filters 905 and 913 and amplified by twoamplifiers 912 and 914 to approximately 1 watt and is sent to a transmitantenna 916. The transmit antenna also has a harmonic trap 916A, whichis used to further reduce any second harmonic distortion, which ifradiated, would interfere with the received signal from the tag in alost golf ball. The Quadrature Modulator 904 is controlled by the FPGA902 which provides and generates a Pseudo-Random Binary Sequence usedfor the Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum signal. The FPGA 902 alsoprovides and produces the OOK control signals to the modulator 904 andgenerates and provides the In-Phase and Quadrature-Phase signals appliedto the Quadrature Modulator 904.

[0106] An alternative embodiment for the handheld unit shown in FIG. 8Cis to change feature (1) of the Quadrature Modulator to implement90-degree phase shift keying at the audio tone frequency, instead ofOn-Off keying. Features (2), Direct-Sequence Spectrum Spreading, and(3), Single-Sideband translation remain the same. The FPGA 902 producesthe 90-degree phase shift keying signal applied to the QuadratureModulator 904. When the tag in the golf ball doubles the transmittedfrequency from 914.5 MHz to 1829 MHz, the tag also doubles the amount ofphase shift keying modulation to 180-degree keying. The re-radiatedsignal is active 100% of the time, instead of nominally half-time forOn-Off keying, and the receiver has twice as much signal energy toprocess in the FPGA, A/D converter, and Post Demodulation processing.Thus the maximum useable range for finding the tag-equipped golf ball isincreased, with a related increase in power drain on the battery.

[0107] The receiver of the handheld unit 900 operates on the principlethat the tag in the golf ball will produce a harmonic reflected signal,which in one embodiment, doubles the transmitted frequency of 914.5 MHzto a reflected signal of 1829 MHz which re-radiates this doubled signalback to the receiver of the handheld unit. When a BPSK signal issquared, the modulation is removed and the energy in the modulatedsidebands is collapsed back into a single spur at a frequency twice thecarrier frequency. Thus the target (e.g. a tag in a lost golf ball) notonly performs frequency doubling (or generating some other harmonic),but in the process, despreads the signal for free, eliminating therequirement for despreading circuitry in the receiver of the handheldunit. Therefore, what is re-radiated from the tag in the golf ball is anOOK modulated signal at 1829 MHz. The receiver receives this re-radiated(reflected) signal at the receive antenna 940 and filters and amplifiesthis 1829 MHz signal through the amplifiers 942 and 944 and the bandpass filters 941 and 943. Thus, the received signal from antenna 940 isfiltered in band pass filter 941 which outputs its filtered signal tothe amplifier 942 which outputs its filtered signal to the amplifier 942which outputs an amplified signal to the band pass filter 943 whichoutputs a filtered signal to the amplifier 944 which outputs a signal tothe mixer 946. The other input to the mixer 946 is the received localoscillator signal at a frequency of 1818.3 MHz which is received fromthe band pass filter 932. The mixer 946 performs a down-conversion to a10.7 MHz intermediate frequency (IF) by multiplying the amplified 928MHz signal received from amplifier 944 by the local oscillator signal of1818.3 MHz received from the band pass filter 932. This multiplication(also called mixing) produces two signals, one at the sum frequency of1347.3 MHz and the other at the difference frequency of 10.7 MHz. Thesum frequency is filtered out by the 10.7 MHz intermediate frequencyfilter 947 which provides an output to the amplifier 948. Thisintermediate frequency filter 947 has a very small bandwidth (15 kHz)that also eliminates most of the received noise and adjacent RF (RadioFrequency) interference. What remains out of the intermediate frequencyis a 10.7 MHz, OOK modulated signal that is amplified by amplifier 948and further amplified by an amplifier 950 which includes a generatorcircuit 950 that generates a Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).This RSSI generator is not unlike an amplitude modulation (AM) detector,but with a logarithmic amplitude response. This RSSI function removesthe 10.7 MHz carrier, resulting in just the audio tone that was appliedto the signal in the transmitter. An 8-bit analog-to-digital (A/D)converter 952 converts the RSSI signal to a sampled digital signal. Thisdigitized signal then undergoes post-demodulation signal processing inthe FPGA 902 to further enhance the signal by reducing the noise by asmuch as 20 dB. This post-demodulation signal processing is performed bya Synchronous Video Generator (SVI) which performs an ExponentialEnsemble Average across multiple OOK radar bursts. The FPGA 902 isprogrammed to include the SVI which is used for the post-demodulationsignal processing. The FPGA 902 converts the output of the SVI circuitback to audio, which is amplified by an amplifier 958 which drives aspeaker or headphones 960. The digital-to-analog converter 962 may beused in conjunction with the FPGA 902 to convert the digital audiooutput to an analog output for purposes of driving the speaker 960 orheadphones. Optionally, a series of LEDs or a meter driven by thedigital-to-analog converter 956 may also provide a visual indication ofthe proximity of the golf ball to the user of the handheld unit 900.

[0108]FIG. 8D shows another embodiment for a handheld unit whichconsists of a battery powered transmitter and an antenna radiating atabout 915 MHz and an antenna and a receiver operating at about 1829 MHz.The handheld unit 1000 of FIG. 8D is similar in some ways to handheldunit 900 of FIG. 8C. The handheld unit 1000 includes band pass filters1005 and 1013 and amplifiers 1012 and 1014 in the transmitter portion ofunit 1000. In addition, this transmitter portion includes a transmitantenna 1016 which receives the amplified signal produced by amplifiers1012 and 1014 through a harmonic trap 1016A. The transmitted signaloriginates from a crystal oscillator 1022 and phase locked loopsynthesizer 1026 which produce a signal at a reference frequency ofabout twice the transmitted signal. A divide-by-two frequency divider1030 and a band pass filter (BPF) 1031 provide the transmitter localoscillator signal to signal generator 1004 which is controlled by thePLD (Programmed Logic Device) 1002. The output of the signal generator1004 drives the amplifiers 1012 and 1014, and the amplifier 1014 iscontrolled by OOK control from PLD 1002. This OOK control pulses thetransmitter on and off, in one embodiment, with an On duty cycle of 50%or less. This will save battery life and minimize heat generated in thetransmitter. The transmitter may also include an adaptive power controlwhich could extend battery life (and simplify the handheld's userinterface). When no signal is detected and when the receive signalstrength is more than adequate for detection, the unit could scale backthe transmit power automatically, thus conserving battery power andfreeing the user from having to adjust a power transmit control knob.The receiver portion of the handheld unit includes receiver antenna 1040which is coupled to BPF 1041 which in turn is coupled to amplifier 1042.The output of amp 1042 drives amp 1044 through BPF 1043. The mixer 1046,which receives the output of amp 1044, down converts this output to a10.7 MHz intermediate frequency signal which is amplified (in amp 1048)and filtered (in BPF 1049) and then processed by amplifier 1050 (whichmay be an Analog Devices AD 607 amplifier which generates an RSSIsignal). The amplitude of the received signal may be measured by aCordic transform in microcontroller 1001. The RSSI signal is convertedby an Analog to Digital converter in the microcontroller 1001 which inturn drives a D/A converter and an amplifier and speaker 1060 (or someother appropriate output device).

[0109] Several three-dimensional tags having a substantial surface areain more than one plane will now be described by referring to FIGS. 9Athrough 9H and 10A and 10C. It will be appreciated that these are someof many possible examples of three-dimensional tags, and it will beappreciated that the previously described planar tags may be formed tohave a substantially non-planar shape in the manner described below.

[0110]FIG. 9A shows an example of a spiral tag 1100 having a firstspiral antenna portion 1101 and a second spiral antenna portion 1102which are coupled together through the diode 1103. The spiral antennaportion 1102 includes an end 1107, and the spiral antenna portion 1101includes an end 1106. In the case of the tag 1100, the winding directionthrough both antenna portions is maintained, as can be seen by beginningat the end 1107 and following the direction of the winding of theantenna portion 1102 through and into the antenna portion 1101, andultimately arriving at the end 1106 while maintaining the same windingdirection through both of these spiral antenna portions.

[0111] The example of the spiral antenna 1120 shown in FIG. 2B is a casewhere the first and second antenna portions are mirror images orcomplements of each other; thus the winding direction is reversedbetween the two antenna portions 1121 and 1122. These antenna portionsare coupled together by the diode 1123 as shown in FIG. 9B. Thecomplement or mirror image nature of the two spiral antenna portions canbe seen by beginning at the end 1127 and winding in a winding directionof the spiral antenna portion 1122, which is an opposite windingdirection relative to the spiral antenna portion 1121, where the windingbegins at the end 1126. An electrical schematic of the spiral tags 1100and 1120, as well as the other spiral tags shown in FIGS. 9D through 9H,is shown in FIG. 9C. The tag 1130 of FIG. 9C includes a diode 1133 whichis coupled between antenna portions 1131 and 1132. An inherent inductor,as shown in FIG. 9C, is coupled in parallel across the diode 1133. Thetag 1130 works in a manner which is similar to the tag shown in FIG. 2A,except that such a tag has substantial surface area in more than oneplane. The multiplanar or three-dimensional tag described herein hasimproved findability relative to a tag which is substantially in oneplane (e.g. such as the tag shown in FIG. 3A) due to the fact thatsingle-plane tags have dead spots. An example of a dead spot is when thetag lands in an orientation in which the plane of the tag isperpendicular to the waves which are transmitted from the handheld unit(see the signal 16 which is represented as waves originating from thehandheld transmitter).

[0112] The spiral tags described herein, such as spiral tags 1100 and1120, allow for the diode to be located near the center of the ball,which is desirable for protection from shock and for meeting golf ballflight and balance requirements. The structure of these tags providesgreater cross-sectional areas in all planes, and this provides betterperformance than a single-planar tag which might land in an orientationwhere very little of the transmitted power is received by such asingle-planar tag. The structures of the spiral antenna portionsnaturally form an ideal shape for shock absorption. It will beappreciated that control of the winding radius and pitch may be used tocreate a structure which is resonant of both the transmit (e.g. 915 MHz)and receive (e.g. 1830 MHz) frequencies.

[0113]FIGS. 9D, 9E and 9F show examples of spiral tags which arecontained within slugs which are used to form golf ball cores. Theseslugs are similar to the slug shown in FIG. 6C which includes the tag606. The slugs shown in FIGS. 9D, 9E and 9F may be formed by extrudingthe ball material around the spiral tag or by inserting the spiral taginto a void or cutout in each half-portion of a slug. After the spiraltag has been placed within the slug, then the combination may be moldedin a high pressure and high temperature vulcanization process which issimilar to that described relative to FIG. 6D above. This vulcanizationprocess or molding process creates the spherical golf ball core whichcan then be encased in a shell as described above.

[0114] The slug assembly 1140 includes a spiral tag having a diode 1143which is coupled between spiral antenna portions 1141 and 1142. Thisspiral tag is similar to the spiral tags shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C.The spiral tag is included or encased within the slug material 1135 inan extrusion operation described above or by inserting the spiral taginto a void between two half-portions of the slug material 1145. In thecase of FIG. 9E, the spiral tag has the spiral antenna portions orwindings inverted as shown in FIG. 9E, with the diode 1153 coupledbetween these antenna portions 1151 and 1152. The spiral tag is encasedwithin the slug material 1155 to form the slug assembly 1150 shown inFIG. 9E. The spiral tag of FIG. 9E is electrically similar to thecircuit shown in FIG. 9C. The spiral tag in the slug assembly 1160 ofFIG. 9F is the same as the spiral tag shown in FIG. 9E except that thespiral antenna portions are formed from flat wire (see, for example,FIG. 9G) relative to the cylindrical wire used in FIG. 9E (see, forexample, FIG. 9H). The slug assembly 1160 has a spiral tag whichincludes the diode 1163 which is coupled between spiral antenna portions1162 and 1161 which are formed out of flatter wire than the spiralantenna portions 1151 and 1152. The spiral tag of FIG. 9F is includedwithin slug material 1165 to form this slug assembly 1160. It will berecognized that these spiral tags have perforations within their outerperimeters which allow a material to flow through the tag (e.g. in amolding operation).

[0115] The difference between the types of wires which may be used forthe spiral antenna portions is shown in FIGS. 9G and 9H. In the spiraltag of FIG. 9G, the diode 1173 couples together flat wire antennaportions 1172 and 1171, which have been formed into spiral antennaportions. This tag 1170 is electrically similar to the tag shown in FIG.9C. The tag 1180 shown in FIG. 9H includes a diode 1183 coupled betweenspiral antenna portions 1181 and 1182. This tag 1180 is electricallysimilar to the tag shown in FIG. 9C. The tag 1180 uses wire which has acylindrical cross-section rather than the flat wire shown in the tag1170 of FIG. 9G.

[0116]FIG. 13 shows an exemplary method 1301 for constructing a golfball, which in the case of this method, has a spiral tag; this methodmay also be used with the various other tags described herein, such asthe multiplanar tags of FIGS. 10A and 10C or the planar tags of FIGS. 3Aand 4A. This method may be used to construct one-piece or two-piece ormore than two piece golf balls. The extruder 1303 extrudes precursorportions 1309 and 1311 from extrusion openings 1307 and 1305respectively; the extruder 1303 pushes, in one embodiment, unvulcanizedrubber material which is used to form the core of a golf ball (and henceit may be considered a core precursor material). The extruder pushes thematerial through the openings which have been designed to produceproperly sized precursor portions. A knife or blade may be used tocreate a beginning/front edge and a back edge on the portions. Theportions 1309 and 1311 are then respectively transported (e.g. by aconveyor belt) to holders or fixtures 1319 and 1317 as indicated byarrows 1315 and 1313. These holders serve to hold the portions in placewhile a stamper 1323, having a mold 1321, robotically stamps an imprintof the mold 1321 into the flat face of the portions 1309 and 1311. Themold is designed to have a similar (e.g. substantially the same) shapeand size as the tag (e.g. tag 1330) which is to be placed within theslug portions. The slug portions 1309 and 1311 are soft enough, and themold 1321 hard enough, that a void, having a shape and size which isdesigned to receive at least a portion of the tag, is created in theface of the portions by the mold. It will be appreciated that the void,on one of the portions, is designed to normally hold about one-half ofthe tag (and the other half is held in the void in the face of the otherportion). After stamping the voids in the faces of the portions 1309 and1311, two stamped portions 1327 and 1325 are created. These two stampedportions 1327 and 1325 are then combined with a tag 1330 through arobotic arm 1333 which places the tag 1330 into at least one of thevoids 1328 and 1329, in the portions 1327 and 1325. In one embodiment ofthis method, after the tag 1330 is positioned within at least one void,the robotic arm 1333 releases the tag 1330, and this allows the two halfportions 1327 and 1325 to be joined together with the tag 1330, in thevoids 1328 and 1329, sandwiched between the two portions. This assembly1337 of tag 1330 and portions 1327 and 1325 may then be processedfurther by placing the assembly 1337 into a molding chamber to mold theball or ball core (in a manner which is similar to the operation shownin FIG. 6D). A camera and a motion/position control system may be usedto properly position the tag 1330 into at least one of the voids 1328and 1329. Alternatively, after the stamper 1323 is removed from the slugportion it imprinted, and before the portion is removed from its holder,another robotic arm may place a tag into the just imprinted void whilethe slug portion is fixed within the holder. As another alternative, thetag may be manually (e.g. by a human) placed within a void of a firstslug portion and then the other slug portion is joined manually to thefirst slug portion to create the assembly 1337. Further, the stampingoperation may also be performed manually.

[0117] All of the single-plane tags described above may be formed in amanner to create a three-dimensional or multiplanar tag by twisting orbending or otherwise forming such tags so that they have athree-dimensional shape. FIG. 10A shows an example, in a top view, of an“S” shaped tag 1200. This tag may be any of the tags shown in FIGS. 3Athrough 5P, and it may be formed by twisting or bending the antennaportions, prior to attaching the diode or after attaching the diode.After the tag 1200 is formed, it will be placed within a slug materialwhich has been cut or otherwise formed to have a conforming shape toreceive the “S” shaped tag 1200. An example of such slug portions isshown in FIG. 10B which includes slug portions 1202 and 1204 having beencut (or formed) into a shape to receive the “S” shaped tag. Thus, asshown in FIG. 6C, after the tag 1200 is placed within the slug portions1202 and 1204, the slug assembly may then be placed in a moldingchamber, similar to the chamber shown in FIG. 6D, to mold the tag withinthe slug material to create a golf ball core having the tag. As notedabove, the tag may include multiple perforations or at least oneperforation, allowing the core material to flow through the perforationsin the multiplanar tag to provide a unitary structure such as that shownin FIG. 3E in the case of a multiplanar tag.

[0118]FIG. 10C shows another example of a multiplanar tag formed from asingle-plane tag such as any one of the tags discussed relative to FIGS.3A through 5P. In the case of FIG. 10C, the tag may be bent or twistedor otherwise formed into the shape shown in FIG. 10C. FIG. 10C is a topview of the tag 1210. FIG. 10D shows two slug portions 1212 and 1214which have been cut or otherwise formed to receive the tag 1210. The cutin the slug creates a void into which the tag 1210 is placed. FIG. 10Dis a top view of these slug portions and shows how the slug portions canreceive the tag 1210. After receiving this tag, the slug portions may bebrought together and placed within a molding chamber to mold the slugwith the tag 1210 into a golf ball core, similar to the operation shownin FIG. 6D above.

[0119] Examples of the use of carts with handheld units of the presentinvention will now be described relative to FIGS. 11A and 11B. In thecase of FIG. 11A, a golf cart 1250 which is motorized (e.g. an electriccart or gasoline powered cart) is shown having a cradle 1251 which isdesigned to receive and hold a handheld unit, such as the handheld unit14 of FIG. 1A. A battery recharger system 1252 is coupled to the cradle1251 to recharge the batteries (which may be rechargeable batteries) inthe handheld unit which is placed within the cradle. Thus, when thehandheld unit is not being used and is stored or stowed within thecradle 1251, it is charged by a recharging system 1252 which may drawits power from the batteries of the golf cart (or some other existingelectrical system of the golf cart). FIG. 11B shows an example of a pullcart which may be used in golf. The pull cart 1255 includes a cradle1256 which is designed to receive a handheld unit, such as the handheldunit 14 of FIG. 1A. The pull cart is shown without a recharging unit,but it will be appreciated that optionally it may include a rechargingunit (which includes a battery) to recharge the battery in the handheldunit while it is stored or stowed in the cradle 1256 of the pull cart1255. Golf bags, such as “shoulder bags,” may also include a cradle orholster for holding a handheld unit. These bags, such as Belding bags,are typically slung over the golfer's shoulder and carried in thismanner. These bags may optionally include a rechargeable battery torecharge the batteries in the handheld.

[0120] Various embodiments of the invention provide for methods ofoperating golf courses and methods of using findable balls withhandhelds. The use of findable balls and handhelds will enable golfersto complete an 18-hole round of golf at a golf course in less timebecause the time spent looking for lost balls is substantially reduced.A golfer with a handicap in excess of 15 (more than 80% of worldwidegolf players) will hit ten or more shots per round that do not land inthe fairway. These off-fairway shots are typically not lost but can befound within a search time frame of about 10 seconds to 5 minutes. Witha system as described herein, such as a findable ball and a handheldunit, this search time frame is minimized and the pace of play is notadversely impacted. In fact, a typical golfer equipped with a handheldunit and findable balls as described herein should experience an 8-12minute acceleration in the time it takes him/her to complete an 18-holeround of golf. An 8-minute acceleration represents a 3% throughputimprovement for golf course operators who expect an 18-hole round totake about 270 minutes. Golf course operators go to great lengths tocommunicate and enforce rapid pace of play. Score cards, golf cartsignage, on-course signage and roving marshals all have a priorityemphasis on speeding up play. Much like a restaurant needs to movetables, the golf course operator needs to get as many players aspossible through the course in a given day. Thus, the findable balls andhandhelds described herein may be provided by golf course operators tothe players so that the golf course operators may achieve thisaccelerated throughput which will increase the profitability of the golfcourse operator by increasing revenue to the golf course operator. Thereare numerous ways in which golf course operators may utilize aspectsdescribed herein. For example, a golf course operator may give adiscount, such as a discount on the green fee, to a golfer who will usea findable ball and handheld but not give such a discount to a golferwho does not use a findable ball and handheld. The golf course may rentor provide for free findable balls and handheld units to those golferswho do not have their own or may require all golfers to use findableballs and handheld units. A golf course may, after the course closes,cause its employees to search for findable balls containing tags whichremain on the course after the course has closed in order to retrievesuch balls. By doing so, the course will have fewer such balls and thusthere will be fewer false positives (e.g. finding someone else's lostball from a prior round of golf). The golf course may also employ othermethods if findable balls and handheld units are used. For example, thegolf course may decide to cut the grass less often in rough areas,allowing this grass to grow higher than is normally done in golf courseswhich do not use findable balls and handheld units to find the balls.This will tend to decrease expenses for the golf course. The golf coursemay charge for the use of a golf course (an 18-hole round of golf) basedon the amount of time used if the golfer does not use a findable balland handheld unit, but if the golfer does use a findable ball and ahandheld unit, then the charge is a fixed amount or a fixed amount up toa certain amount of time to play the round of golf.

[0121]FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of one particular method of usingfindable balls and a handheld. This method may be performed largely bythe golf course. The method 1260 shown in FIG. 12 is one example, and itwill be appreciated that there are numerous other examples in whichdifferent operations are performed in different sequences or are notpresent or additional operations are present. Upon registering with thegolf course, the golf course determines whether a golfer has findableballs and handhelds (operation 1261). If the golfer does have findableballs and handhelds and will use them, then a green fee discount (orsome other discount) or some other legal consideration is given to thegolfer who will use the findable balls and handheld (operation 1263). Ifthe golfer does not use findable balls and a handheld, then in operation1265 the golf course may rent or provide for free findable balls andhandhelds for use by the golfer, but the golfer will not, in thisexample, receive a green fee discount. Thus, whether or not the golferhas brought findable balls and a handheld unit for use with the findableballs, all golfers after operations 1263 and 1265 will be usinghandhelds and findable golf balls (operation 1267). If a ball gets lost,then a golfer may find the lost ball with the handheld in operation1269. After the golf course has closed for play (or after a round ofgolf has concluded), golf course employees may search for findable balls(using a handheld unit) which remain on the course. These balls arefound and then removed from the course so that fewer false positiveswill occur for the next rounds of golf which are played. It will beappreciated that this is an optional operation (operation 1271) whichmay not be performed by some golf courses. The operation 1271 may beperformed at some predetermined time (after the course closes) orotherwise (e.g. when it is decided that too many golfers are finding toomany false positives). The operation may be performed after each roundof golf or every other day after the course closes or once a week (e.g.Sunday night after the course closes) or at some other interval. Inoperation 1273, the golf course decides to cut the grass in the roughareas less often, thereby allowing it to grow higher. It will also beappreciated that this operation 1273 is also optional. As noted above,these operations may be performed in a different sequence or with moreor fewer operations than shown in FIG. 12 which is one example of amethod of operating a golf course. It will be appreciated that a typicalgolf course is not the same as a driving range, but golf courses mayinclude a driving range. It will also be appreciated that the foregoingdescription applies to clubs which include golf courses.

[0122] It will be appreciated that numerous modifications of the variousembodiments described herein may be made. For example, each golf ballcould be printed with a unique identification number such as a serialnumber in order to allow a user to identify from a group of lost ballswhich lost ball is his/her lost ball. Alternatively, a quasi-uniqueidentifier, such as a manufacturing date when the ball is manufactured,may be printed on the outside of the ball so that it can be read by auser to verify that a user's ball has been found within a group of lostballs which have been uncovered by the handheld unit. As noted above,the embodiments of the present invention may be used with one piece orthree-piece golf balls in addition to two-piece golf balls describedabove. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the impedance ofthe diode may be matched to the impedance of the antenna. It will beappreciated also that the tags discussed above are passive tags havingno active components such as semiconductor memory circuits, and theantenna does not need to energize such active components such assemiconductor memory components.

[0123] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been describedwith reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will beevident that various modifications may be made thereto without departingfrom the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in thefollowing claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf ball comprising: a shell; a core materialwhich is encased within said shell; and a tag having a diode coupled toan antenna, said tag being disposed within said core material, said taghaving at least one perforation.
 2. A golf ball as in claim 1, whereinsaid tag is designed to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal of a firstfrequency and to re-radiate a return RF signal of a second frequency. 3.A golf ball as in claim 2, wherein said second frequency is a harmonicof said first frequency.
 4. A golf ball as in claim 2, wherein saidradio frequency signal is emitted from a handheld device and whereinsaid golf ball satisfies the specifications of the United States GolfAssociation, and wherein said core material extends from one side ofsaid tag to another side of said tag through said at least oneperforation.
 5. A golf ball as in claim 4, wherein said golf ball isfindable by said handheld device up to a range of about 60 feetseparating said golf ball and said handheld device and wherein said tagfurther includes a dielectric layer attached to said antenna and havingsaid at least one perforation.
 6. A golf ball as in claim 4, whereinsaid tag has a perimeter which is rounded along most of said perimeterand has an effective diameter which is slightly less than an innerdiameter of said shell.
 7. A golf ball as in claim 4, wherein said diodeis coupled to said antenna by a compressible conductor.
 8. A golf ballas in claim 1, wherein said core material extends from a first side ofsaid tag, through said at least one perforation, to a second side ofsaid tag.
 9. A golf ball as in claim 1, wherein said tag is passive andsaid antenna does not serve to provide power to any memory elements. 10.A golf ball as in claim 8, wherein said tag is a substantially planarstructure which is substantially symmetrical about an axis whichcoincides with a diametric axis of said golf ball.
 11. A golf ball as inclaim 10, wherein said diode is positioned near said diametric axis. 12.A golf ball as in claim 11, wherein said diode is coupled to saidantenna near the center of said golf ball along said diametric axis. 13.A golf ball as in claim 11, wherein at least a portion of an outerperimeter of said tag conforms to an inner contour of said shell.
 14. Agolf ball as in claim 13, wherein said tag comprises an approximately“U” shaped portion which comprises a transmission line which is coupledto said antenna.
 15. A golf ball as in claim 14, wherein a mid-line,which represents an approximate bisection of said approximately “U”shaped portion, is substantially aligned with said diametric axis.
 16. Agolf ball as in claim 15, wherein said diode is coupled to said antennanear a top portion of said approximately “U” shaped portion.
 17. A golfball as in claim 16, wherein said diode is positioned substantially offcenter relative to the center of said golf ball.
 18. A golf ball as inclaim 17, wherein said at least one perforation comprises an openingwhich surrounds said approximately “U” shaped portion.
 19. A golf ballas in claim 13, wherein said tag comprises an approximately “T” shapedportion which comprises a transmission line which is coupled to saidantenna.
 20. A golf ball comprising: a shell; a core material which isencased within said shell; a tag having an electrical element coupled toan antenna, said tag being disposed within said core material, said tagbeing detectable with a handheld transmitting/receiving device over arange of at least about 20 feet separating said handheldtransmitting/receiving device and said tag, and wherein said golf ballhas high durability and substantially complies with golf ballspecifications of the United States Golf Association.
 21. A golf ball asin claim 20, wherein said electrical element comprises a diode andwherein said tag is designed to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal ofa first frequency and to re-radiate a return RF signal of a secondfrequency.
 22. A golf ball as in claim 21, wherein said second frequencyis a harmonic of said first frequency.
 23. A golf ball as in claim 21,wherein said high durability includes being able to withstand at least20 cannon test hits.
 24. A golf ball as in claim 23, wherein said golfball specifications comprise size, weight and flight characteristics.25. A golf ball as in claim 23, wherein said handheldtransmitting/receiving device complies, when transmitting, withregulations of the Federal Communications Commission.
 26. A golf ball asin claim 23, wherein said handheld transmitting/receiving device, whentransmitting, emits less than, or equal to, about 1 watt maximum peakpower.
 27. A golf ball as in claim 23, wherein said handheldtransmitting/receiving device, when transmitting, emits less than, orequal to, about 4 watts effective isotropic radiated power.
 28. A golfball as in claim 21, wherein said tag comprises at least one perforationand said core material extends from a first side of said tag, throughsaid at least one perforation, to a second side of said tag.
 29. A golfball as in claim 28, wherein said tag is a substantially planarstructure which is substantially symmetrical about an axis whichcoincides with a diametric axis of said golf ball.
 30. A golf ball as inclaim 29, wherein said diode is positioned near said diametric axis. 31.A golf ball as in claim 30, wherein said antenna comprises a first wingand a second wing which are symmetrically disposed about said diametricaxis, and wherein at least a portion of said at least one perforationseparates at least a portion of each of said first wing and said secondwing, and wherein each of said first wing and said second wing has atleast a portion of an outer perimeter which substantially conforms tothe outer diameter of said core material.
 32. A golf ball as in claim31, wherein said tag further comprises a transmission line which iscoupled to said antenna and to said diode.
 33. A golf ball as in claim32, wherein said transmission line has an approximately “U” shapedportion.
 34. A golf ball as in claim 32, wherein said transmission linehas an approximately “T” shaped portion.
 35. A golf ball as in claim 33,wherein said approximately “U” shaped portion is substantially bisectedby said diametric axis.
 36. A golf ball as in claim 34, wherein saidapproximately “T” shaped portion is substantially bisected by saiddiametric axis.
 37. A golf ball as in claim 25, wherein said tag is asubstantially planar structure which is substantially symmetrical aboutan axis which coincides with a diametric axis of said golf ball, andwherein said antenna comprises a first wing and a second wing which aresymmetrically disposed about said diametric axis, and wherein each ofsaid first wing and said second wing has at least a portion of an outerperimeter which substantially conforms to the outer diameter of saidcore material.
 38. A golf ball as in claim 37, wherein said tag furthercomprises a transmission line which is coupled to said antenna and tosaid diode.
 39. A golf ball as in claim 38, wherein said transmissionline has a shaped portion which is substantially bisected by saiddiametric axis.
 40. A system for finding a golf ball, said systemcomprising: a golf ball which comprises a tag which has a diode coupledto an antenna; a handheld transmitting/receiving device which is capableof detecting said tag over a range of at least 20 feet separating saidhandheld transmitting/receiving device and said tag, wherein saidhandheld transmitting/receiving device complies, when transmitting, withregulations of the Federal Communications Commission.
 41. A system as inclaim 40, wherein said handheld transmitting/receiving device, whentransmitting, emits less than, or equal to, about 1 watt maximum peakpower.
 42. A system as in claim 40, wherein said handheldtransmitting/receiving device, when transmitting, emits less than, orequal to, about 4 watts effective isotropic radiated power.
 43. A systemas in claim 40, wherein said golf ball complies with golf ballspecifications of the United States Golf Association and wherein saidgolf ball has a construction which is at least a one-piece construction.44. A system as in claim 40, wherein said tag is a substantially planarstructure which is substantially symmetrical about an axis whichcoincides with a diametric axis of said golf ball.
 45. A system as inclaim 44, wherein said antenna comprises a first wing and a second wingwhich are symmetrically disposed about said diametric axis, and whereineach of said first wing and said second wing has at least a portion ofan outer perimeter which substantially conforms to the outer diameter ofsaid golf ball.
 46. A system as in claim 45, wherein said tag furthercomprises a transmission line which is coupled to said antenna and tosaid diode.
 47. A system as in claim 46, wherein said transmission linehas a shaped portion which is substantially bisected by said diametricaxis.
 48. A system as in claim 47, wherein said diode is positioned nearsaid diametric axis.
 49. A method of making a golf ball, said methodcomprising: forming a core precursor member having a first portion and asecond portion; placing a tag between said first portion and said secondportion thereby creating a combined member, said tag having at least oneperforation; placing said combined member into a mold structure; moldingsaid combined member in the mold structure, said molding causingmaterial from one of said first portion and said second portion to flowinto said at least one perforation to contact the other of said firstportion and said second portion; enclosing a core member, obtainedthrough said molding, in a shell.
 50. A method as in claim 49, whereinsaid forming comprises splitting said core precursor member to createsaid first portion and said second portion.
 51. A method as in claim 49,wherein said tag is completely enclosed within said first portion andsaid second portion.
 52. A method as in claim 49, wherein said moldingcomprises exposing said combined member to a molding temperature and amolding pressure for a predetermined period of time.
 53. A method as inclaim 52, wherein said molding temperature is in a range from about 200°F. to about 350° F. and said molding pressure is in a range from about1,000 pounds per square inch (psi) to about 5,000 psi and saidpredetermined period of time is in a range from about 1 minute to about15 minutes.
 54. A method as in claim 53 further comprising: cooling saidcore member prior to said enclosing.
 55. A method as in claim 54,wherein said core member is cleaned prior to said enclosing.
 56. Amethod as in claim 53, wherein said molding cures a core material insaid first and said second portions.
 57. A method as in claim 53,wherein said tag is a substantially planar structure which issubstantially symmetrical about an axis which coincides with a diametricaxis of said golf ball.
 58. A method as in claim 57 wherein said tagcomprises a diode coupled to an antenna, said antenna comprising a firstwing and a second wing which are symmetrically disposed about saiddiametric axis, and wherein at least a portion of said at least oneperforation separates at least a portion of each of said first wing andsaid second wing, and wherein each of said first wing and said secondwing has at least a portion of an outer perimeter which substantiallyconforms to the outer diameter of said core member.
 59. A method as inclaim 58, wherein said tag further comprises a transmission line whichis coupled to said antenna and to said diode.
 60. A method as in claim59, wherein said transmission line has a shaped portion which issubstantially bisected by said diametric axis.
 61. A method as in claim49, wherein said forming comprises molding said first portion and saidsecond portion separately.
 62. A golf ball comprising: a ball material;a tag disposed in the ball material, the tag having a first diode and asecond diode which are both coupled to an antenna, said first diode andsaid second diode being coupled in parallel.
 63. A golf ball as in claim62, wherein said first diode has a first N region and a first P regionand said second diode has a second N region and a second P region andwherein said first N region is coupled to said second P region and saidfirst P region is coupled to said second N region.
 64. A golf ball as inclaim 63 further comprising an inductor coupled in parallel with saidfirst diode and said second diode.
 65. A golf ball as in claim 63wherein said first diode and said second diode are formed in amonolithic integrated circuit which is surrounded by a package.
 66. Agolf ball as in claim 63 wherein said antenna comprises a first antennaportion and a second antenna portion and wherein said first N region iscoupled to said first antenna portion and said first P region is coupledto said second antenna portion.
 67. A golf ball as in claim 66 whereinsaid tag is substantially symmetrical about a diametric axis of saidgolf ball.
 68. A golf ball as in claim 63 wherein said tag is designedto receive a radio frequency (RF) signal of a first frequency and tore-radiate a return RF signal of a second frequency and wherein saidradio frequency signal is emitted from a handheld device and whereinsaid golf ball satisfies the specifications of the United States GolfAssociation.
 69. A golf ball as in claim 68 wherein said tag comprisesat least one perforation.
 70. A golf ball as in claim 69 wherein saidball material extends from one side of the tag to another side of thetag through the at least one perforation.
 71. A golf ball as in claim 63wherein the tag has a substantially planar structure.
 72. A golf ball asin claim 63 wherein the tag has substantial surface area in more thanone plane.
 73. A golf ball as in claim 63 wherein the tag has a spiralshape.
 74. A golf ball comprising: a ball material; a harmonic tagdisposed in the ball material, the tag having substantial surface areain more than one plane.
 75. A method for operating a golf course, themethod comprising: determining whether a golfer will use a system tofind a golf ball; providing a legal consideration to the golfer if thegolfer will use the system when playing on the golf course.
 76. A methodas in claim 75 further comprising: requiring at least a group of golfersto use the system, which is a handheld system.
 77. A method as in claim75 further comprising: searching, by golf course personnel, for lostgolf balls from rounds of golf which have ended.
 78. A method as inclaim 75, wherein the legal consideration is at least one of (a) a greenfee discount; (b) a credit toward a future playing of golf; (c) amonetary payment or credit; or (d) a promise to perform an obligation.79. A method for operating a golf course, the method comprising:allowing a golfer to play on the golf course; searching, by golf coursepersonnel, for lost golf balls from rounds of golf which have ended. 80.A method for operating a golf course, the method comprising: providing ahandheld system for finding a golf ball; requiring a golfer, as acondition of using the golf course, to use the handheld system whileplaying on the golf course.
 81. A method as in claim 80 wherein theproviding is one of (a) allowing the golfer to use a handheld systemwhich is owned by the golfer; or (b) allowing the golfer to use ahandheld system which is not owned by the golfer.
 82. A slug assemblyfor use in making a golf ball, the slug assembly comprising: a firstslug portion; a second slug portion; a tag disposed between the firstslug portion and the second slug portion, one of the first slug portionand the second slug portion having a void on its face for receiving thetag.
 83. A golf ball comprising: a ball material; a tag disposed in theball material, the tag having a diode coupled to an antenna, said taghaving at least one perforation.
 84. A golf ball as in claim 83 whereinsaid ball material is a core material and wherein said at least oneperforation is within an outer perimeter of the tag.
 85. A method formaking a golf ball, the method comprising: forming a first precursorportion; forming a second precursor portion; combining into an assemblythe first precursor portion and the second precursor portion with a tag.86. A method as in claim 85 wherein said forming the first precursorportion comprises extruding a material through a first opening and saidforming the second precursor portion comprises extruding said materialthrough a second opening.
 87. A method as in claim 86 furthercomprising: molding said assembly into a golf ball core.
 88. A methodfor making a golf ball, the method comprising: forming a precursorportion; forming a void in said precursor portion; inserting at least aportion of a tag into said void.
 89. A method as in claim 88 whereinsaid forming said first precursor portion comprises extruding said firstprecursor portion and wherein a second precursor portion is alsoextruded and wherein said void is a first void in said first precursorportion and wherein a second void is formed in said second precursorportion.
 90. A method as in claim 89 wherein said first void and saidsecond void are formed by stamping.
 91. A method as in claim 90 furthercomprising: molding said first precursor portion and said secondprecursor portion and said tag.
 92. A method as in claim 91 wherein saidfirst and said second voids are robotically stamped and wherein said tagis inserted robotically.